A federal judge is being asked to decide on the status of the Freedmen within the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma.

The tribe, the Interior Department and the Freedmen filed a joint motion in court on Friday. The parties asked for a ruling based on an 1866 treaty in which the tribe agreed that former African slaves, and their descendants, shall have "all the rights of native Cherokees."

"The Cherokee Nation voluntarily consents to the jurisdiction of this court for the sole purpose of reaching an expeditious determination of the core question in this case, which is of great importance to the Cherokee Nation, and reserves all other rights with respect to its sovereign immunity," the joint motion stated.

The parties agreed to complete briefs on the matter by March 28, 2014. A hearing could take place in April 2014, or at the court's convenience.

Turtle Talk has posted the brief from the case, Cherokee Nation v. Nash.

Get the Story:
Okla. freedmen asking court for citizenship ruling (AP 9/16)

Related Stories:
This Land: One man's fight for Cherokee Freedmen justice (05/22)
Freedmen anticipate Cherokee Nation appeal to Supreme Court (03/14)
DC Circuit won't reconsider decision in Cherokee Freedmen suit (03/13)